Figure 5.

Combination of solamargine and docetaxel results in increased inhibition of CRPC cells. (a) and (b) Bubble plots of GSEA results of PC3 and DU145 cells. (c) and (d) Gene expression profiles of CRPC docetaxel-resistant cells based on the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling gene set versus control. (e) PC3 and DU145 cells were treated with or without solamargine (3 μM) and docetaxel (1 nM). Cell viability was detected using CCK8 assay at the indicated time points. (f) Effects on colony-forming abilities of solamargine and docetaxel. (g) Histograms show the number of colonies. (Values represented mean ± SD. ^∗∗P < 0.01, and ^∗∗∗P < 0.001). (h) The PC3 xenografts were established in nude mice. Mice treated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), solamargine alone, docetaxel alone, double combinations when the size of xenograft reached 50 mm³. Dose schedules were solamargine (5 mg/kg, intraperitoneal, once per 2 days for 4 weeks), and docetaxel (5 mg/kg, intraperitoneal, once a week for 4 weeks). (i) The weight of the xenograft is shown. Error bars represent mean ± standard deviation (Mann-Whitney test; n = 5; ^∗∗∗P < 0.001).